"We mourn the loss today of a great friend and wonderful human being who touched the lives of so many around the world with his gift," Thomas said late Thursday in a statement. "A young life with so much to offer was taken too soon."

Mirra was one of the extreme sports athletes responsible for making the X Games, a creation of ESPN, a full player at the table of world sports competitions. Beginning in 1995, he won 24 medals in the competitions — the record until 2013. Fourteen of them were gold medals.

BMX star Dave Mirra on his way to first place in the BMX Park Final of the Nike 6.0 BMX Open in Chicago in June 2009.Jonathan Daniel / Getty Images

At the peak of his popularity, Mirra was listed as one People magazine's 50 Hottest Bachelors in 2004 and hosted MTV's "Real World/Road Rules Challenge" for two seasons. He had his own video game series, "Dave Mirra Freestyle BMX."